The Princess Warrior- A Naruto AU
by chioocheep
Summary: When her sick father is listed for military service, Temari makes the difficult decision to disguise as man and to enlist in place of her father. Watch as Temari, the matriarch of the Sabaku family transforms into the heroine who saved her homeland. A Naruto AU with inspiration from Mulan. Main pairing ShikaTema. May include side pairings.
Chapter 1

Her Decision

* * *

Nails painted a deep crimson red, lips colored a cherry blossom pink and eyes lined with kohl as dark as a moonless night, Temari looked the part of an eligible maiden visiting the matchmaker to find out she was meant to be spending the rest of her life with. The system disgusted her. How could a rotund lady with at least hundred layers of power on her face know what Temari wanted in her life?

Her room was sparsely decorated and the only picture was of a young brown haired woman with three children smiling boisterously around her. Her mother, Karura had died in the epidemic that had plagued the entire nation. The painting had been made a couple of months before she had fallen ill and Temari looked to it as a source of strength.

Temari would be turning twenty the coming fall and her father was desperate for her to marry off into a well to do family before it was too late. Most of Temari's acquaints were already married and expecting their first child or second in some cases.

But who would look after her family after she left? Gaara and Kankuro were seventeen and eighteen respectively. If war broke out today, her brothers would immediately be eligible for service. Her father Rasa was a warrior of many wars and most probably Emperor Hiruzen would not call him but with the looming invasion of the Uchiha clan on the horizon it was likely that Rasa would have to don his war helmet again.

"Temari, you ready?"

The voice of her youngest brother interrupted her reverie. Gaara's kindness was a startling change from the toughness that characterized Rasa, Kankuro and Temari but according to their father, Gaara was very similar to his mother in his personality. _A man too kind to be a warrior yet blessed with such talent,_ Temari woefully thought.

"Yes." She answered loud enough so that he would be able to hear her through the sliding wooden door that separated them.

Gaara promptly pushed the door open. It seemed that he and Kankuro had spent the entire morning on the field practicing again. His hair was stuck out in different places and his pale face was plastered with sweat. Unlike many soldiers, Gaara had a lanky build which played to his advantage giving him speed over bulkier opponents.

"Are you nervous?" He questioned her with genuine concern in his pale green eyes.

"Why should I be? I come from a great lineage and have several famous ancestors." She proclaimed trying to put on a brave face in front of her brother.

"That is nice to hear." Gaara replied with a glowing smile on his normally stoic face.

"Where is Kankuro?" Temari asked him trying to divert the conversation from the sensitive topic.

"He has gone for some important matter to the Emperor." Gaara said.

"You both are rising fast. Father will be proud." She told him while finishing pinning her blonde sandy hair.

"I thought I could walk you till the matchmaker's place." Gaara suggested earnestly.

"I think I can find my way. "She reassured him with her characteristic cheeky smile.

Gaarc confident that his sister would bring a worthy man to be her husband, walked out of the room. Temari left sitting alone in her chambers couldn't disagree with him more.

 **(*)**

"Remind me again why am I signing up?" Shikamaru drawled at his close friend, Choji.

"It's our chance to prove ourselves Shikamaru. Just imagine it. Everyone in the town will know our names. Not as the sons of Colonel Shikaku and General Chouza but as the war heroes, Shikamaru and Chouji!" Chouji announced.

"Your prediction fails to impress me." Shikamaru said with slight annoyance in his tone. "Just because my father is a master strategist doesn't mean that I have to do the exact same thing."

"Nara have some respect for your father. His plans saved our army last time." A monotone voice interrupted the banter between the friends.

"Sasuke." Shikamaru nodded at heir of the Uchiha clan who had decided to turn his back on his own clan.

Shikamaru had no problem with Sasuke. Most of the time he was indifferent towards the raven haired man but having to bear with him in the same squadron was testing his limits.

Shikamaru, Chouji, Sasuke, Naruto, Kiba, Rock Lee, Neji and Shino had been assigned to Squad Number Fifteen under General Kakashi, Major Asuma and Mighty Guy. Since all of them had no prior experience in war, they were to be sent to a camp where they would receive a sort of crash course in the art of killing their enemy.

Since the army had a deficiency of soldiers, rumor had it that several young men were being forced to fight and many retired soldiers were being brought out of retirement.

Shikamaru Nara was the son of the master strategist, Shikaku Nara and Yoshino. Born with high expectations placed on his head, Shikamaru failed to impress his superiors and many commented that maybe Shikamaru had been adopted by the Nara family. Even on the marriage front, his dismal performance in the military academy failed to get any marriage proposals on their doorstep.

Chouji had been Shikamaru's closest friend since they had been in diapers. Chouji's large frame and ravenous appetite had failed to get him many friends in the military academy but the lazy genius quickly befriended the social outcast. Chouji's father like Shikamaru's was a respected soldier albeit to a lesser extent.

Sasuke was the only member of the Uchiha clan on their side. After the unexpected death of his elder brother, Itachi at the hands of Madara Uchiha, he had joined the military of the Five Lands to take revenge on the maniacal leader of the Uchiha.

Naruto was the orphan sons of Minato, a war martyr and Kushina Uzumaki, the only female warrior to have graced the army of the Five Lands. Naruto had inherited the infectious energy from his mother and the ability to inspire people from his father.

"The training will be a two week exercise. We will wait for the new recruits in our unit before we start our training. Any questions?" Kakashi asked them.

"Do we get to eat ramen?" Naruto barked at the white haired legend.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow at his the son of his former commanding officer but chose not to answer the stupid question.

"You all must remember to keep your springtime of youth intact! If we shine bright, the enemy can't do anything to us! You got me!" Mighty Guy hollered at the recruits.

Naruto and Kiba cheered with the weird guy and Rock Lee had tears in his eyes. _This was going to be troublesome_ , Shikamaru idly thought to himself.

 **(*)**

Temari tried holding back her laugh. The matchmaker was seated in front of her covered in burning hot tea which Temari 'accidentally' had spilled on her.

"You will never find a worthy husband!" The matchmaker cursed her pointing a pudgy finger accusingly at her.

Temari locked her teal colored eyes with the match maker as if challenging her. The matchmaker immediately scooted back.

"I'll be leaving if that is all." Temari politely said to the lady heaving in front of her.

Temari picked herself up in her heavy robes and looked at her face in the cup of tea. Her blonde hair had come undone and fell messily till her elbow. Her eye makeup was running down her cheeks, had she been crying? Her face was flushed with anger and frustration. Who would want to marry her?

By the time Temari reached her house it was a crisp evening and she could smell the food the cook was preparing for them. The house was eerily quiet and lacked Kankuro's loud guffaws, Gaara's serious voice and her father's occasional voice interrupting the two brothers. Sensing the looming danger, she rushed into the sitting room of the house and found her family solemnly sitting there. But no words were passed between them.

"Whatever may be the matter?" Temari nervously asked her family expecting the worse.

"Father has been called for service." Kankuro quietly answered her before returning his gaze to the wooden flooring of their house.

"But the Emperor had promised us that only men interested would be drafted. Hasn't father already fought in a lot of wars!" she exclaimed no able to believe the misfortune which had befallen the small family of four.

"All men under the age of fifty five are now eligible for compulsory service. Father being fifty therefore cannot really escape this predicament." Gaara explained to her while playing with the edge of cloth which covered the table which was at the center of the room.

Temari looked at her father. He looked as if he had accepted his faith and simply sat in his usual chair awaiting the warm dinner prepared by the cook.

That's when she made her decision.

"I'm going." She announced to the three men in the room.

"Where are you going?" Kankuro asked raising himself suddenly curious.

"I'm joining the Emperor's army in place of father." She told them.

"Temari have you lost it! You will be killed!" Garara tried reasoning with her.

"Women are not allowed to take the field." Kankuro added.

"I shall cut by hair and dress like man. I have made my decision and no one can tell me otherwise."

And with that she left the room.

* * *

 **A/N- I have mainly taken the base from Mulan. A lot of the major story will be changed since Shikamaru and Shang are not similar characters. I want to include the the other Naruto female characters as well but I will have to devise some side plot line for that and I don't know whether I want to complicate my story. I hope you enjoyed the first chapter, and please leave a review. Remember a review is like water to a fanfiction writer in a desert!**


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